You Never Speak But I Can Hear You
by QuietLittleVoices
Summary: You find what you're looking for when you see it nervously standing outside the bunker door, a bit dirty and a bit battered and wearing different clothes than you're used to. Because that's when you know, before he turns around and sees you – you know. ((Destiel, post-Sacrifice, 2nd Person Dean's POV, Mute!Cas, rating subject to change))
1. Return

**A/N: **This is kinda gonna be a 'verse. Probably non-chronological. If you wanna, you can send me one-word prompts to go in this 'verse. That'd be awesome, actually.

As always, I own nothing. And I hope you enjoy! Please review if you liked it xx

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You don't have time to be worried after the angels fall, not with Sammy dying of something you can't figure out. You tell yourself, at least, that you're not worried, but after two weeks you can't deny it; you're scared as hell. Sam's getting better, starting to berate you for being a mother hen, so you can't occupy yourself with his every need anymore.

He spends a lot of time in the library, with a cup of tea and a blanket wrapped around his shoulders, researching, reading, sometimes falling asleep right there on the table.

You spend a lot of time driving on dusty dirt roads, not entirely sure what you're hoping to achieve or what you're looking for. But you drive anyway, in all directions. You drive 'till your tires hit loose gravel, until they hit smooth pavement.

You find what you're looking for when you see it nervously standing outside the bunker door, a bit dirty and a bit battered and wearing different clothes than you're used to. Because that's when you know, before he turns around and sees you – you know.

You're standing by the car and staring at him, and you can't even breathe, feeling like you're drowning, but at the same time it's like you can finally breathe again, finally getting your head over water. As you watch silently, he seems to make a final decision and turns away from the door, and that's when he see's you.

He's looking like a deer in headlights, and you know that he'd been planning on leaving, walking away and leaving you wondering forever what had happened to him, eventually accepting that he'd probably died in the fall like so many others. But now he'd lost that chance because you could see him right there with your own two eyes.

You breathe his name and that's when it hits you – he's here. He's really here, and he's a little battered and more than a little broken but he's _here_ and you can't stop yourself from taking those few steps between you and pulling him tight to you. Arms around his shoulders, hands bunched into the back of his jacket, you breathe in his familiar scent. It's a bit masked by sweat and dirt now, and you can feel a scratchy beard against your neck, but underneath it all it's still him.

"I'm glad you're home, buddy," you tell him, and if he hears the hitch in your voice then he doesn't say anything, just wraps his arms around your middle and squeezes you back.

* * *

Sam is glad to see him when you finally make it inside, but he keeps his distance. You make Cas take a shower and you give him some of your clothes to change into afterwards because he's closer to your size than Sam's. While he's gone, you head to the kitchen and make dinner. It was about that time, anyway.

You make burgers because they're your speciality and you know that he likes them. When he comes into the library, hair wet and wearing your too-big clothes, you have to resist the urge to stop and stare, but from Sam's sideways glance you know that he saw your pause. You know that he knows. You just hope that he'll keep his mouth shut, at least for now. The hard look you shoot him seems to communicate with him that you'd like to keep your secret for a little while longer. The look he gives you in response tells you that he understands.

You watch Cas intently as he eats, barely touching your own food. And you notice how he hasn't spoken a word yet.


	2. Stay

**A/N: **It's short, I know. Most chapters will probably be short. Sorry. Anyway. I'm letting you guys send prompts for future chapters of this story. Like, one word prompts. So please do.

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Teaching Cas things is harder than you ever thought it could be – probably due to the fact that he barely registers anyone else's prescience. When you or anyone speaks to him, he doesn't nod or say anything back, doesn't even look at you. He just sets to work with a single minded focus that scares you.

Sam tries to talk to, get him to explain what happened, why the angels all fell, but that doesn't work. You try next, a few days later, and it goes even worse.

You walk into his room, fully expecting to force him to talk, to tell you what happened, what made him like this, but what you find breaks your resolve. He's just... sitting there, on the edge of his bed, staring off at nothing. He looks empty, broken, and you have to stop and just watch him for a few minutes, both stuck there in silence like some strange tableau.

When you can move again, you sit next to him on the bed, looking forwards. "Look, buddy..." you trail off, unsure of where you were going with that. So you try again. "Cas, here's the thing. You're family. Sam and me... we're here for you. If you ever need anything, we're here." You take a deep breath, placing your hands on your thighs as if you're about to get up. You glance sideways at him before you start heaving yourself up. "If you need to talk, we're here to listen. Whatever happened... we don't blame you. I don't blame you." You stand up but he grabs your wrist, and when you look down at him he's looking back up at you with pleading blue eyes.

He opens his mouth like he's going to speak, but he doesn't – just closes his mouth and tugs on your wrist until you sit back down next to him. You can see the words clearly in his eyes, though, before he shifts and leans against you, resting his head on your shoulder. You can feel it etched into his spine, spelled out in the hunch of his shoulders as you wrap your arms around him and pull him closer, needing to give him whatever comfort you can offer.

_Stay._


End file.
